CLERMONT, Fla. --- The Golden Eagle softball team swept their afternoon doubleheader on Sunday, defeating Saint Anselm 6-3 and Bemidji State 3-1 to cap an impressive day at The Spring Games.
Game 1: Clarion 6, Saint Anselm 3
Recap: Clarion responded to early adversity in this game, coming back from a 3-0 hole to score six unanswered runs in the third inning, and then making that lead stick for the last four frames. The Hawks scored three runs in the top of the first inning to take the lead, including a solo home run to lead off the game. Those would be the runs they scored off starting pitcher Emma Hipps, who finished with nine strikeouts in the victory.
The Golden Eagle offense got going in the bottom of the third inning, starting with Kathryn O'Horo's leadoff double. Carissa Giordano walked and Alyssa Stitt started the scoring with an RBI single to center field. Emily Buchleitner reached on an error at shortstop to load the bases, and Rachel Helsley drove in a run with a walk to put her team within a run. Desi Allen tied it with a sacrifice fly to score Stitt, and Martrano added one in the next plate appearance to put Clarion on top 4-3.
Allison Gilliam put the cherry on top of the whole situation. Facing a two-out situation, Gilliam drove a pitch over the left field fence for a two-run home run, scoring Helsley and giving the Golden Eagles a 6-3 lead.
Neither team scored after that point, as Hipps got into a groove. She struck out a pair of Hawks and induced a pop-up for the third out of the fifth inning, and she got out of a jam in the sixth inning with another punchout. Saint Anselm again put runners on second and third in the seventh inning, but Gibbons whiffed Meghan Gibbons on a swinging strikeout to end the game.
Clarion finished with only five hits in the game, with Gilliam driving in the team-high two RBIs.
Clarion 3, Bemidji State 1
Recap: This time the Golden Eagles were the ones to strike first, with Helsley providing all the runs they would need in the first three innings. She started things off with a two-run RBI single in the top of the first inning, drilling a base hit to left to bring Carissa Giordano home from second base.
The second hit of Helsley's day came in the top of the third inning, after Alyssa Stitt hit a one-out double to reach base. With two outs and a runner in scoring position, Helsley blasted a hanging breaking ball over the center field fence for a two-run home run, giving the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Megan Anderson and the Golden Eagle defense did the rest, holding the Beavers to just a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Even then, Anderson mitigated the damage, getting out of a jam with runners on second and third. She induced a pop-up for the third out, stranding a pair of Bemidji State runners and keeping her team ahead 3-1.
Her best work came in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the team clinging to that same two-run lead. Anderson worked a 1-2-3 frame to lock up the win, forcing a weak grounder to third base for the final out.
Stitt went 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Helsley finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Desi Allen added a double, while Tori Martrano contributed two base hits.
